US: Torture law doesn't apply to PLO, PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 19, 2012 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON - The Palestinian Authority and PLO cannot be sued under a 1991 US victim protection law over the alleged torture of an American in a West Bank prison, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, holding that the law only applies to individuals. The justices unanimously agreed with the Obama administration that the Torture Victim Protection Act allowed civil lawsuits in US courts only against a person who had engaged in torture or killing, not against groups.

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Dept. of Justice response on prosecuting Palestinian killers unsatisfying for lawmakers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Zach Silberman - April 18, 2012 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- U.S. House lawmakers want more answers after the Department of Justice reiterated the obstacles it says stand in the way of prosecuting alleged Palestinian terrorists who killed Americans. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Welch in his April 5 letter was responding to a March 1 letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder from Congress members that called on Holder to pursue prosecutions against Palestinian terrorists who were responsible for killing Americans and were recently released by Israel as part of the deal to free captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

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U.S. can't abandon the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by El-Hassan Bin Talal - (Opinion) April 17, 2012 - 12:00am

Early this year, the Pentagon's strategic review signaled a shift in priorities for U.S. foreign policy, suggesting that more attention would be paid to the Asia-Pacific region. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke of this as a "pivot" toward Asia, signaling what for many analysts and ordinary Americans has been a long-overdue transition away from Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East in general. But there's a problem with that. The act of pivoting involves turning your back, and the United States should not turn its back on the Middle East.

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Hussein Ibish Is Not a Zionist
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) April 13, 2012 - 12:00am

Hussein Ibish, of the American Task Force on Palestine, has written an extremely sensible piece about Middle East pragmatism, in which he takes on advocates of the so-called one-state solution, who argue, among other things, that any Arab who supports a two-state solution is an Uncle Tom, or worse, an actual Zionist:

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Congressmen to Abbas: Medal awarded to Helen Thomas may damage U.S. assistance to PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - April 10, 2012 - 12:00am

The award given to controversial journalist Helen Thomas by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sparked anger not only in Israel, but in the U.S. Congress as well. Two senior Congressmen sent Abbas a letter denouncing the award and hinting that such a move may hurt U.S. assistance to the PA.

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Chinese Divided Over Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Robert O. Freedman - (Opinion) April 9, 2012 - 12:00am

In recent years, China’s foreign policy has turned more assertive than it has been in decades. When it comes to the Middle East, it has expressed this aggressiveness mostly through the veto power it wields in the United Nations Security Council, protecting Iran, for example, from tough sanctions over its nuclear program. With regard to the Syrian uprising, the Chinese, along with the Russians, have prevented the international body from sanctioning the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for its bloody repression of its own population.

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Is it Finally Time for Dialogue Between the US and Hamas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Khaled Elgindy - (Analysis) April 9, 2012 - 12:00am

This week’s visit to Washington by members of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, demonstrated just how much has changed in US-Arab relations in the wake of the Arab uprisings. The high-profile Egyptian delegation coincides with visits by representatives of other Islamist parties from Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and Libya also in town this week for various meetings and conferences.

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The West Must Support Universal Values in the Arab World
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Opinion) - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am

Over the past 14 months of uprisings in the Arab world, Iran has steadily lost influence throughout the Middle East. Recognizing this is crucial for understanding the way in which Palestine, Syria and other key strategic battlegrounds now play into Iranian calculations, and how new opportunities have emerged for both Arabs and the West.

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The West Must Support Universal Values in the Arab World
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) March 30, 2012 - 12:00am

Over the past 14 months of uprisings in the Arab world, Iran has steadily lost influence throughout the Middle East. Recognizing this is crucial for understanding the way in which Palestine, Syria and other key strategic battlegrounds now play into Iranian calculations, and how new opportunities have emerged for both Arabs and the West.

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Abbas to Obama: PLO ready for talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- PLO official Saeb Erekat said Tuesday that President Mahmoud Abbas insisted Palestinians are ready to return to negotiations if Israel commits to Quartet requirements, in a conversation with US President Barack Obama. Obama called Abbas on Monday to assure him of the US commitment to Middle East peace, the White House said, in their first conversation since meeting in New York as the US vetoed Abbas' bid for Palestinian statehood at the UN six months ago.

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